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Hedge fund executives expect to increase their investments in Asia significantly over the next several years, the Thai News Service reports.

The 529 industry, faced with the dismal fact that 56% of parents don’t know about these college savings plans, is debating whether to launch a national advertising campaign or to reach parents on a more individual basis through a grassroots marketing campaign, Investment News reports.

Due to credit rating agencies’ concerns over its exposure to subprime holdings in three of its money market funds, Legg Mason invested $100 million in one of them in October and procured $238 million in credit to support two others this month, Bloomberg reports, citing filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

While the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has spearheaded a number of investor educational programs, it has launched the first one aimed specifically at Boomers.

Doug Fabian, president of Fabian Wealth Strategies, has, once again, released his “lemon list” of poorly performing funds that underperform their category averages not just over a period of one years, but also three and five years. Of the 8,500 funds in the database, 2,244 failed to make the grade.

FundQuest is planning to launch by the end of the year a suite of 10 funds that gives new meaning to the term “passive aggressive,” The Wall Street Journal reports.

MarketWatch columnist Chuck Jaffe has a bone to pick with the Investment Company Institute and the Independent Directors Council, which have just issued a report showing that three-quarters of 88% of fund boards were comprised of independent directors at the end of last year.

Amid the sobering talk of a possible recession, there were two pieces of news last week that are cause for additional consternation. First, bond guru Bill Gross of Pimco warned that the subprime crisis could linger for another two years, wiping out another $250 billion in loan defaults through the end of next year on top of the $900 billion worth of current questionable collateralized debt obligations and subprime loans.

As it turns out, institutional investors aren’t as keen on transparency as many industry insiders have said they are.

Employers and employees at small businesses don’t see eye to eye when it comes to 401(k)s, according to a Harris Interactive survey commissioned by ShareBuilder Advisors, a 401(k) that specializes in serving small companies.

Bank of America launched a $35 million advertising campaign this past weekend that will continue into the second quarter of next year, that highlights its retirement programs and ability to provide clear, understandable individual retirement account (IRA) solutions.

The U.S. Department of Justice has brought charges against Paul Eustace, founder, president and principal trader of Philadelphia Alternative Asset Management, which the Commodity Futures Trading Commission shut down two years ago.

Speaking before the Investment Company Directors Conference last week, Andrew J. Donohue, director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s investment management division, called on directors to be more meticulous about making sure fund investments are properly valued. He pointed to the subprime crisis as evidence of this importance.

The Supreme Court heard arguments last week in a case seeking to eliminate a state's right to issue tax-free municipal bonds for paper concerning its own state, but to tax out-of-state municipal bonds.

The self-policing efforts of the $1.8 trillion hedge fund industry took a step forward with last week's release of the Managed Funds Association's guidelines for best practices in the industry.

The digital age continues to make inroads at the Securities and Exchange Commission, as the SEC said on Nov. 2 it is considering a plan to permit fund managers to file applications for exemptive relief, or variances from agency procedures, over the Internet. The industry has through Dec. 14 to comment on the proposal.

After more than a decade of fits and starts for prospectus profiles, it appears that both the mutual fund industry and the Securities and Exchange Commission are finally comfortable with the idea.

Amid the sobering talk of a possible recession, there were two pieces of news last week that are cause for additional consternation. First, bond guru Bill Gross of Pimco warned that the subprime crisis could linger for another two years, wiping out another $250 billion in loan defaults through the end of next year on top of the $900 billion worth of current questionable collateralized debt obligations and subprime loans.

Bank of America Names Jones Head of Columbia

Funds to Embrace More Elaborate Investments